This is the latest of the series of drawings done en plein air out in the wilds of West Wales, the smallest of three fine stones on farmland near Llechdwnni Farm on the mountain between Ferryside and Pontyberem. I worked on top of some Fabriano Accademica paper that I had prepared with my own home-madeContinue reading “Ethereal, Insubstantial.”
Tag Archives: standing stones
Hidden In Plain View
As I’m continuing to work with Dewi Bowen, the archaeologist, I realise just how many ancestral stone monuments there are across the Welsh landscape. Apart for a few years in England, I’ve lived in Wales all my life and I never realised how ubiquitous these ancient monuments are. They seem reasonably well documented, on websitesContinue reading “Hidden In Plain View”
The Stone Outside The Village
A journey around Carmarthenshire today, to find, record and draw more Neolithic stone monuments, the first is the Is-coed Stone just outside the gorgeous seashore village of Ferryside. And now I’m tired and aching zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz I’m travelling around South West Wales with archaeologist Dewi Bowen who is researching his new book on Neolithic / Bronze AgeContinue reading “The Stone Outside The Village”
Mud, Stones And Ice Cream
Yesterday we trekked up the mountain near Trecastle to visit the Nant Tarw stone circles and cairn. The Bronze Age circles are made up of small, rather insignificant stones and although fascinating historically and culturally, they were not particularly inspiring visually. However, the scenery was absolutely spectacular, with the Fan Brycheiniog face of Mynydd DuContinue reading “Mud, Stones And Ice Cream”
The Drinking Stone
The spectacular Maen Llia standing stone near the village of Ystradfellte at the junction of two valleys, possibly a marker stone on an ancient trackway. It’s a huge diamond shaped conglomerate slab, probably from the Bronze Age and local legend says that the stone drinks from the nearby stream on Midsummer morning. I drew ontoContinue reading “The Drinking Stone”
The Stoneless Ring
The final drawing from last Sunday’s trek around ancient ancestral sites took us up a mountain to the Pentre’r Bebyll ring cairn up above Pontarddulais. At 860 feet, the summit of Mynydd Pysgodlyn was really cold and I was already chilly from doing the two previous drawings at Bryn y Rhyd and Graig Fawr. ThisContinue reading “The Stoneless Ring”
Walnuts And Mud
My journey around ancient monuments last week ended is an unbelievably muddy field just outside the tiny village of Meinciau in Carmarthenshire. Some distance from the road, through a couple of fields is The Gwempa standing stone, a large menhir covered in elaborate patterns of lichen and scored heavily with lines near the bottom. TheContinue reading “Walnuts And Mud”
Stones, Slurry, Sun
This morning was bright, sunny and cold and I took off with archaeologist Dewi Bowen and film maker Melvyn Williams for a second day following the trail of Bronze Age monuments across West Wales. We had a trek up Mynydd Llangyndeyrn, between the villages of Pontyberem and Crwbin to see a magnificent standing stone; aContinue reading “Stones, Slurry, Sun”
MUD!!!
A great day out today, scrambling across the West Wales countryside with irrepressible archaeologist Dewi Bowen and inquisitive film maker Melvyn Williams, finding ancient burial sites and standing stones and drawing in the mud. This site is called Meini Llwydion (Grey Stones) and it’s near Llangynog in Carmarthenshire. After almost 4 months of rain, theContinue reading “MUD!!!”
Sunpan And Gong
The Bagpuss Window, a semi-derelict anarchic artspace, flashed into existence for three short weeks in September (2015) and then ended as abruptly as it started as the wrecking crew moved in to demolish the building. Fellow artist Melanie Ezra and I took it on at very short notice from developers Coastal Group and opened itContinue reading “Sunpan And Gong”